I love Coq Au Vin (Chicken with Wine), but when you're trying to watch your calories, all that butter and chicken fat in a tradtional Coq Au Vin can add up quick. Here is my recipe for Coq Au Vin that misses none of the lusciousness of the traditional recipe but with a fraction of the fat and calories. For those of you keeping track, this recipe is 6 Weight Watchers points per serving*.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup red wine
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 cup mushroom(s), cut in half
4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken thigh
1 cup fat-free chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
1 leaf bay leaf
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp black pepper, to taste
1 tsp table salt, to taste
Instructions: Place flour in a plastic bag. Put the chicken in the bag and shake to coat the chicken with the flour. In a dutch oven, place the olive oil and heat until small wisps of smoke appear. Add the garlic and chicken. Salt and Pepper the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Add the wine and chicken broth along with the herbs and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and add the onions and mushrooms. Let the sauce reduce by three fourths and then return the chicken to the sauce. The sauce should have body but not too thick. Create a slurry with 1 Tbsp of flour and a small amount of water and add to the sauce to thicken if desired. Serve immediately with noodles or mashed potatoes.
Serves 4*
*special note to my weight watcher friends, if you turn this into 2 servings (as we would at our house) then this has a point value of 9.
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Ode to a Grecian Olive Oil
After seeing my poll on which country produces the best olive oil my good friend John gave me a bottle of home pressed olive oil from his mother-in-law’s own olive tree orchard from the state of Patras in the Katoahaia region, near the Ionian Sea in Greece. The olive oil is fantastic; very fresh, clean and herbaceous with a nice peppery bite. At home we have been concentrating on eating healthy and I find olive oil to be essential in that endeavor. In honor of our new Grecian olive oil, I put together this very quick and easy recipe last night. Thanks to John and Katrin (John’s lovely wife) for the inspiration.
Grecian Lemon-Garlic Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts, sliced thin
4 Cloves of Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 Tbsp Grecian Olive Oil
½ Tsp Salt
Cracked Pepper
¼ cup Chicken Broth
Juice of One Lemon
1 Tbsp Capers
1 oz Reduced Fat Feta Cheese Crumble
Chopped Parsley
Place the chicken in a large bowl and top with the pressed garlic (if you do not have a garlic press, then simply mince the garlic very fine until it makes a paste consistency), 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (reserve 1 Tbsp), salt and pepper. Mix well to coat all the chicken. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
In a large sauté pan, heat the additional olive oil over medium high heat until you see it shimmer across the pan. Add the chicken and sauté until almost done, approximately 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue to sauté until the juice of the lemon has reduced in half. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Be sure to scrape up all the bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan to bring up all that luscious flavor. Remove from the heat and add the Capers, Feta Cheese and Chopped Parsley. Stir to warm the remainder of the ingredients and serve immediately over Grecian Bulgur Wheat Pilaf.
Serves 3-4
Grecian Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 tsp Grecian Olive Oil
1 Cup Uncooked Organic Bulgur Wheat
¼ Cup Kalamata Olives, sliced
½ Cup Cherry or Grape Tomatoes cut in half
¼ Cup Sliced Almonds
In a covered pot heat the Chicken Broth and olive oil until it boils. Add the Bulgur Wheat and the remaining ingredients and let the mixture return to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir the mixture well and serve.
Serves 3-4
Grecian Lemon-Garlic Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts, sliced thin
4 Cloves of Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 Tbsp Grecian Olive Oil
½ Tsp Salt
Cracked Pepper
¼ cup Chicken Broth
Juice of One Lemon
1 Tbsp Capers
1 oz Reduced Fat Feta Cheese Crumble
Chopped Parsley
Place the chicken in a large bowl and top with the pressed garlic (if you do not have a garlic press, then simply mince the garlic very fine until it makes a paste consistency), 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (reserve 1 Tbsp), salt and pepper. Mix well to coat all the chicken. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
In a large sauté pan, heat the additional olive oil over medium high heat until you see it shimmer across the pan. Add the chicken and sauté until almost done, approximately 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue to sauté until the juice of the lemon has reduced in half. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Be sure to scrape up all the bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan to bring up all that luscious flavor. Remove from the heat and add the Capers, Feta Cheese and Chopped Parsley. Stir to warm the remainder of the ingredients and serve immediately over Grecian Bulgur Wheat Pilaf.
Serves 3-4
Grecian Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 tsp Grecian Olive Oil
1 Cup Uncooked Organic Bulgur Wheat
¼ Cup Kalamata Olives, sliced
½ Cup Cherry or Grape Tomatoes cut in half
¼ Cup Sliced Almonds
In a covered pot heat the Chicken Broth and olive oil until it boils. Add the Bulgur Wheat and the remaining ingredients and let the mixture return to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir the mixture well and serve.
Serves 3-4
Friday, October 5, 2007
Who You Calling Chicken?
My co-worker Maria is a Portuguese woman who hails from Goa, India who until recently was living in London. As such, she has quite the “cosmopolitan” taste in food. Some time ago, she brought me a Biryani spice blend to make with rice and chicken. I have to admit that I avoided it for a while, because I was afraid it would be too difficult, as I have heard that biryani is a very complex meal to make. Earlier this week, however, Maria and I were discussing our dinner plans and my thoughts turned to the biryani spice blend. She assured me that it was quite simple and that I should give it a go. The result was utterly spectacular and I can’t wait to make it again. This is not exactly what you might get in a proper Indian kitchen. I altered the recipe with some non-traditional items to suit the ready available ingredients I had on hand, (as well as my own taste) but I believe there was no disparity in the quality of the dish. Here is what I did.
"Frightless" Chicken Biryani
2 TBSP Olive Oil
½ Chopped Onion
2 Medium Chicken Breasts cubed
5-6 Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into quarters
1 TBSP Fresh grated Ginger
2 Cloves Garlic
6 TBSP Garam Masala or Biryani Spice Blend*
1 Cup Plain Yogurt
1 Cup Water
2 Medium Tomatoes cut into wedges
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Chiles sliced thin (Optional)
Cilantro
2 cups cooked Basmati Rice
Method:
In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and sweat the chopped onions. Add the chicken and potatoes and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and spice blend and toast the spices a bit before adding the yogurt and water. At this point, reduce the heat and cover, let the dish simmer until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are fork tender, approximately 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the sour cream to help thicken the broth. Serve over cooked Basmati rice and top with cilantro and sliced chiles.
Traditionally, you would serve this dish with Naan, or even pita, but since I had neither, I heated up some corn tortillas instead. Not traditional but it sure was tasty. If you need a little help "putting out the fire in your mouth" try a little Raita as a condiment on the side (Recipe follows).
*Garam Masala and Biryani spice blends are not available in most supermarkets. You can purchase Biryani spice blends over the internet or in a specialty market.
Raita
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ chopped cucumber
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and serve chilled.
"Frightless" Chicken Biryani
2 TBSP Olive Oil
½ Chopped Onion
2 Medium Chicken Breasts cubed
5-6 Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into quarters
1 TBSP Fresh grated Ginger
2 Cloves Garlic
6 TBSP Garam Masala or Biryani Spice Blend*
1 Cup Plain Yogurt
1 Cup Water
2 Medium Tomatoes cut into wedges
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Chiles sliced thin (Optional)
Cilantro
2 cups cooked Basmati Rice
Method:
In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and sweat the chopped onions. Add the chicken and potatoes and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and spice blend and toast the spices a bit before adding the yogurt and water. At this point, reduce the heat and cover, let the dish simmer until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are fork tender, approximately 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the sour cream to help thicken the broth. Serve over cooked Basmati rice and top with cilantro and sliced chiles.
Traditionally, you would serve this dish with Naan, or even pita, but since I had neither, I heated up some corn tortillas instead. Not traditional but it sure was tasty. If you need a little help "putting out the fire in your mouth" try a little Raita as a condiment on the side (Recipe follows).
*Garam Masala and Biryani spice blends are not available in most supermarkets. You can purchase Biryani spice blends over the internet or in a specialty market.
Raita
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ chopped cucumber
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and serve chilled.
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